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💡 Why Star This?

• Battle-Tested: HeyGen did 937 interviews in 6 months to find PMF — this is the same methodology
• Complete Framework: End-to-end templates from user screening to post-interview analysis
• Ready to Use: Question banks, debrief templates, user grading standards

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💡 Need 1-on-1 Consulting? 30 min / $100 — Contact @Iris_carrot on Telegram

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⭐ Star This Repo

If this playbook helps you, a GitHub Star ⭐ helps others discover it!

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Why User Interviews?

"Product founders spend the first 6 months doing intensive user interviews. HeyGen's founder did 937 interviews in 6 months. Wisperflow and Higgsfield both did 500+. It's constant interviewing and iterating."

— Iris (生姜iris)

Value	Description
🎯 Validate Needs	Confirm users actually need this feature/product
🔍 Discover Pain Points	Find friction points in the user journey
📖 Collect Stories	Gather real user stories for marketing & fundraising
🤝 Build Relationships	Convert high-value users into ambassadors
🚀 Guide Iteration	Turn feedback into product roadmap

Key Benchmarks

Metric	Target
Registration to Paid	5%-8%
Interview Frequency	3-5 per week minimum
Actionable Insights	3+ feature requests per interview

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Pre-Interview Preparation

Step 1: Define Interview Goals

• What is the core question for this interview?
• What hypothesis are you validating?
• Which user segment are you targeting?

Step 2: Screen Interview Candidates

Priority	User Type	Description
🔴 P0	Paying Users	Already paid — highest value
🔴 P0	Power Users	Daily usage, deep product knowledge
🟠 P1	Competitor Users	Using competing products
🟠 P1	Churned Users	Previously active, now gone
🟡 P2	Registered Non-Payers	Interested but not converted

Step 3: Schedule Users

Invitation Template:

Hi [Name],

I'm [Your Name] from [Company]. We noticed you've been using [Product] 
and would love to invite you to a 30-minute interview to understand 
your experience and feedback.

The session will be recorded for internal review only, never shared publicly.

Would you have time this week?

Best,
[Your Name]

Follow-up Cadence:

• Day 1: Initial invite
• Day 3: First follow-up
• Day 7: Second follow-up
• Day 10: Final follow-up
• Multi-channel: LinkedIn, email, Telegram, Discord — everywhere you can reach them

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Interview Execution

Interview Setup

Item	Requirement
Duration	30-45 minutes
Format	Video call (Zoom/Meet/Teams)
Recording	Mandatory — including screen share
Team	1 moderator + 1 note-taker

Opening Script (5 min)

1. Warm-up + Introduction
   "Hi, thanks for taking the time to chat. I'm [Name], working on 
   product at [Company]."

2. Set Expectations
   "Today I'd love to learn about your experience with our product 
   and hear your feedback to help us improve."

3. Get Recording Consent
   "We'll record this session for internal learning — it won't be 
   shared publicly. You can keep your camera off if you prefer. 
   Is that okay?"

4. Background
   "Before we dive in, could you briefly introduce yourself?"

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Core Question Framework

1. Background (Must-Ask)

Question	Purpose
What do you do for work?	Understand user persona
How did you hear about us?	Identify acquisition channels
How long have you been using the product?	Gauge user maturity
Which features do you use most?	Identify core use cases
What other similar tools do you use?	Understand competitive landscape

2. Deep Dive (Core)

Current Workflow:

1. What problem are you solving with our product?
2. What do you do most frequently in our product?
3. How did you solve this problem before us?
4. What's changed since you started using us?

Competitor Comparison:

1. What other similar products are you using?
2. What do you use each product for?
3. How do we compare to competitors?
4. What do competitors do better than us?

Pain Point Discovery:

1. What frustrates you about using our product?
2. Have you encountered any bugs or issues?
3. Is there a feature that's particularly hard to use?
4. If you had a magic wand, what would you change?

Willingness to Pay:

1. What tools have you paid for before?
2. What made you decide to pay?
3. How much would you pay for our product?
4. What would make you upgrade to paid?

3. Screen Sharing (Critical!)

"Have users share their screen during interviews. Watch how they use it. See where they get stuck." — Iris

What to Observe:

• How does the user navigate?
• Where do they get stuck?
• Which features are used vs. ignored?
• Emotional reactions during usage?

Prompt:

"Could you show me how you typically use our product? 
Just do what you'd normally do — no need to prepare anything special."

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Closing & Follow-up

Closing Script (5 min)

1. Ambassador Invite
   "We have a user ambassador program — you'd get early access to 
   new features and direct input on product direction. Interested?"

2. Referrals
   "Do you know anyone else who might benefit from our product?"

3. Thank You
   "Thanks so much for your time — your feedback is incredibly valuable!"

Post-Interview Debrief (Required!)

See Templates

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User Grading Standards

Grading Dimensions

Dimension	Description
Usage Frequency	Daily / Weekly / Monthly
Usage Depth	Core features / Advanced / API
Payment Status	Free / Basic / Pro / Enterprise
Engagement Level	Passive / Active / Proactive
Social Influence	Regular user / KOL / Community leader

User Tiers

Tier	Characteristics	Strategy
🔴 S-Tier	Power user + Paid + Willing to advocate	Ambassador priority, CEO/PM direct contact
🟠 A-Tier	Power user + Payment potential	Beta access, regular check-ins
🟡 B-Tier	Occasional use + No clear payment intent	Guide to core features, push conversion
⚪ C-Tier	Low activity + No payment intent	Reduce investment, monitor natural retention

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Templates & Tools

📝 Templates

• Interview Debrief Template
• User Profile Sheet
• Feature Request Tracker

🛠️ Recommended Tools

Category	Tool	Use Case
Survey	Typeform	User research surveys
Recording	Grain, Fathom	Meeting transcription
Database	Airtable	User database
Scheduling	Calendly	Appointment booking
Outreach	LinkedIn	B2B user contact

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FAQ

Q1: Users don't want to join interviews?

• Offer incentives ($50 gift card)
• Emphasize impact on product improvement
• Start with your most engaged users

Q2: User is nervous and can't talk?

• Start with casual topics
• Share some industry gossip
• Let them demo the product first — reduces pressure

Q3: User has too many feature requests?

• Ask: "If you could only have one, which would it be?"
• Check alignment with core use cases
• Compare against product roadmap

Q4: How to tell if user is just being polite?

• Watch screen share behavior — real usage is revealing
• Probe for details: "Can you tell me more?"
• Willingness to pay is the most honest signal

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中文版

详细中文内容请参考 references/zh/README.md

快速导航

主题	链接
访谈准备	references/zh/preparation.md
访谈执行	references/zh/execution.md
问题框架	references/zh/questions.md
模板库	references/templates.md

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📚 Get the Complete Playbook

Want all playbooks in one comprehensive package? Get the Open-Source Project Integrated Marketing Action Manual:

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About the Author

Iris (生姜iris) — Former cofounder & COO of AFFiNE, led global go-to-market from 0 to millions of users.

• 💬 Telegram: @Iris_carrot
• 🐦 Twitter: @WeiYipei
• 📱 即刻: 生姜iris
• 📧 公众号: 云宝的桃花坞

Consulting

Service	Price
30-min Session	$100 / ¥800
60-min Session	$200 / ¥1,500
Monthly Retainer (≤5h)	$1,000 / ¥7,000

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Related Playbooks

• gingiris-launch — AI Product Global Launch Playbook
• gingiris-opensource — Open Source Launch Marketing
• gingiris-b2b-growth — B2B SaaS Growth Playbook
• gingiris-aso-growth — Mobile App ASO & Growth

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License

MIT License - Feel free to use and adapt!